Monthly Binned Atmospheric Water Vapor Mixing Ratio from Aura MLS Satellite

ML3MBH2O provides monthly binned water vapor mixing ratio data derived from the EOS Aura Microwave Limb Sounder's 190 GHz radiometer. Spatial coverage is near-global from -82 to +82 degrees latitude at a 4 by 5-degree resolution. The data is produced by NASA's GES DISC and is archived in netCDF4 format.

Use Cases

• Analyze lat-lon map vs pressure group data to visualize global monthly water vapor distribution patterns.
• Use lat vs pressure zonal mean data to study hemispheric and seasonal variations in stratospheric humidity.
• Compare vortex average vs theta data to investigate polar vortex dynamics and its impact on water vapor content.
• Employ the statistical fields (average, min, max, std dev, rms) within each group to quantify monthly variability and uncertainty in the retrievals.

Strengths

• Near-global spatial coverage from -82 to +82 degrees latitude.
• Data is binned on multiple vertical grids (pressure and theta) with six distinct group objects per file.
• Each data group includes statistical measures: average, minimum, maximum, standard deviation, and RMS.

Limitations

• Vertical resolution degrades from 1.5 km at 316 hPa to 15 km above 0.1 hPa, limiting fine-scale analysis in the upper atmosphere.
• The recommended useful vertical range is between 316 and 0.00215 hPa, excluding the lower troposphere.
• Specific row count, file size, and temporal coverage are not provided in the description.

Provenance

Source

NASA Goddard Earth Sciences Data and Information Services Center (GES DISC).

Collection Method

Derived from radiances measured by the 190 GHz radiometer on the EOS Aura Microwave Limb Sounder (MLS) satellite.

Time Range

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Freshness

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Geography

Near-global (-82 to +82 degrees latitude).